Practically Paper Piecing Blog Hop: Checkbook Covers

I have been on an unexpected internet break for the past couple of weeks, but I am happy to be back for my stop on Kristy @ Quiet Play's Practically Paper Piecing Blog Hop. This blog hop is all about giving paper-pieced orphan blocks a proper home!

I decided to make my blocks into some fun checkbook covers.

I really only have to use my checkbook a once or twice a month, but it always irritates me because a) picking up a pen is a lot of effort ;)  & b) it is always lost at the bottom of my purse, because I hardly ever use it!

This isn't a full tutorial. I am just going to run real quickly through my measurements and process, since this is very similar to my Book Cover with Pockets Tutorial. I couldn't resist making some additional blocks for this project, but the 7.5" Log Cabin block from the Foundation Piecing for the Terrified (great series over at The Littlest Thistle!) made a very good exterior piece as well.

Exterior Piece 2 - 7"x2.5" Flying Geese Blocks * 1 - 7"x 3.5" Piece of Fabric

Interior Piece 2 - 7"x 6" Pieces of Fabric (for pockets) 1 - 7"x 7.5" Piece of Fabric (for lining)

*PDF Download. Do not scale to fit page. The 7"x2.5" size includes the 1/4" seam (dotted line).

Exterior Piece

1) Place right side of flying geese block to the right side of the the 7"x 3.5" piece of fabric. Align top edges. Sew 1/4" seam along top edge. Open and press.
2) Place right side of second flying geese block to the right side of the the 7"x 3.5" piece of fabric. Align bottom edges. Sew 1/4" seam along bottom edge. Open and press.
( I flipped the second set of geese around, so the points were facing a different direction than the first set)

Interior Piece

1) Fold 7"x6" pieces of fabric in half (the right side will be facing the outside), so that they become 7"x3."
2) Place the first pocket on the right side of the lining fabric. Align raw edges on the top.
3) Place the second pocket on the right side of the lining fabric. Align raw edges on the bottom.
4) Place the exterior piece on top of the interior piece, right sides facing.
5) Pin everything in place and sew 1/4" seam all the way around the outside, making sure to leave 3" opening for turning.

Finishing

1) Turn the piece inside out.
2) Hand sew opening closed.

TA-DA! I don't feel quite so rage-y about my checkbook anymore and it is way easier to find in the jungle that is my purse than that boring black faux-leather one! 

Thanks Kristy, for doing a fabulous job hosting this blog hop! Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog hop for other ideas on how to use up your orphan blocks!

1 Kristy from Quiet Play http://quietplay.blogspot.com.au
2 Kate from Kate Quilts http://www.katequilts.com/home/
3 Diane from From Blank Pages http://fromblankpages.blogspot.com.au/
4 Lara from LuellaBella http://luellabellablog.blogspot.com.au/
5 Sunday – Day off
6 Charise from Charise Creates http://charisecreates.blogspot.com.au/
7 Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts http://blossomheartquilts.blogspot.com.au/
8 Kiera from Kizzie’s Korner http://kizziescorner.blogspot.com.au/
9 Marieka from Bespoke Bites http://bespokebites.blogspot.com.au/
10 Sally from Sally Bally Creations http://sallyballycreations.wordpress.com/
11 Jane from QuiltJane http://www.quiltjane.blogspot.com.au/
12 Sunday – Day off
13 Taryn from Pixels To Patchwork http://www.pixelstopatchwork.com/
14 Jane from Where Jane Creates http://wherejanecreates.blogspot.com.au/
15 Laura from Quokka Quilts http://quokkaquilts.blogspot.com.au/
16 Emily from Emily the Enabler http://emilytheenabler.blogspot.com.au/
17 McKenna from Textile Diva http://textilediva.blogspot.com.au/
18 Sat Lauren from Renrad Craft Studio http://renradcrafts.blogspot.com.au/
19 Sunday – Day off
20 Fiona from Finding Fifth  http://findingfifth.blogspot.com.au/
21 Beth from Plum and June http://plumandjune.blogspot.com.au/
22 Megan from Jaffa quilts http://jaffaquilts.blogspot.com.au/
23 Juliet from Tartan Kiwi http://craftandnappies.blogspot.com.au/
24 Katy from The Littlest Thistle http://thelittlestthistlecraftshop.blogspot.com.au/
25 Sat Tracey from the Peony Teacup http://thepeonyteacup.blogspot.com.au/
26 Sunday – Day off
27 Fiona from Celtic Thistle Stitches <http://celticthistlestitches.blogspot.com.au/
28 Anorina from Samelia’s Mum http://www.sameliasmum.com/

Colorwheel Geese Vase Rug

I hope everyone had a great weekend! This weekend was awesome, because we saw The Hunger Games. I have been obsessing about that for over a year now, so I am sure my husband is glad that it finally came out and he doesn't have to hear about it anymore! This weekend was kind of a bummer also, because the new Mad Men season started and I don't have cable! Now the long wait for it to hit Netflix begins!

Last week was such a slow week for sewing. My house becomes a complete disaster after a major project, so a majority of last week was spent spring cleaning and getting my lawn to look a little more respectable. I am so behind on my blocks of the week, but I did manage to get the Foundation Piecing for the Terrified Week 4 Block (from The Littlest Thistle) done. I am seriously excited about this one! I can remember admiring this block on Pinterest, wishing I could sew something like it! I used my remnants from the owl quilt, plus Bella Solids Stone & Charcoal. I had bought the Stone for another project, but it ended up blending in more than I wanted, so I am glad I found another use for it. I quilted and binded it and it is currently serving as a vase rug. I love the look of the geese circling the vase.

I've done most of my sectional pieces for the NY Beauty QAL, so putting those together is the plan for the rest of the week. I have three quilt tops taking up valuable floor space right now, so I am hoping to get one of those done as well. Good thing I have a lot of extra time on my hands this week!

Linking to: Manic Monday at SewHappyGeek, Little Quilt Monday at Pieceful Life, and Sew Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations.

 Copyright © From Pixels to Patchwork 2012. All rights reserved.

Quilt Block Monday!

Happy Monday all! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I woke up this morning with all these great plans, but then I went back to sleep! I did get a couple of blocks done though. Here is my collection of blocks for the past week:

1. QuatraStar Foundation Pieced Block from the Sew. Happy. Quilt. QAL - I liked the leniency on seam allowances and the ease of ripping seams, but I still prefer paper piecing. Not going to lie, a big part of the dislike was having to trace the pattern four times! I stared wistfully at my printer while drawing out the templates. I like being able to see the lines on the back and I had a hard time seeing through the muslin. I also missed ripping the paper. It is kind of therapeutic! One more block to go on this QAL.
2. HST Block of the Month: March at In Color Order - Not much to say on this one, except I am happy that I finally have a block where all the triangles have points :) 
3. String Block for Foundation Piecing for the Terrified at The Littlest Thistle - Fun and easy block, using my scraps from the Snuggly Layer Cake throw. This will make a good companion pillow!
4. Block 0 for the New York Beauty QAL at My Go-Go Life - My first curves, fun! Part of my curve is more pointy than I would like, but it is less pointy than expected so I am counting this as a WIN! I had to redo the inner circle. It helped going medium-slow instead of slow on the curves. When I used the slowest setting, I tried to control the machine too much and ended up with a very odd looking curve! Since the first part went OK, I am going to go for the full circle as soon as the Sew. Happy. Quilt. QAL wraps. I had a hard time deciding on the background fabric. I love the contrast of white, but Good Fortune looks really good against gray and is less easy to destroy than white. White is just begging to have coffee dumped on it! In the end I decided on contrast. I'll just keep Shout close-by at all times!

Now I am off to fix dinner. Pork Pacifica, yum!

Copyright © From Pixels to Patchwork 2012. All rights reserved.

Yay for Productive Mondays!

I spent all weekend paring down my Netflix Instant Queue and beating my husband at Trivial Pursuit*, so I didn't get a whole lot done on my WIP list. After the weekend hiatus, it was good to get back to the sewing machine! I put together two blocks this morning. The first block is the Diamond HST block for the Sew. Happy. Quilt. QAL. I am not really consistent with my HSTs yet, but I love them! They are so versatile and I love the look. The second block is for Week 2 of the Foundation Piecing for the Terrified Series. I really enjoy paper piecing! I had a bit more trouble on this block than the last one, but only because I shouldn't sew in hunger! Since I am so excited over paper piecing right now, I bought a few paper piecing patterns to suit my interests (GNOMES!) and I can't wait to sit down and put those together.

In happy happy joy joy news, I was so excited to receive my 13 half-yard bundle of Little Apples giveaway prize from Quilt Story and Fabric Shoppe! I want to do a "going to the library" set with it. I'm trying to make myself wait for a few more project finishes first!



*He wins at every other game, so I have to brag! He is currently on a 113 game winning streak with Monopoly. I am convinced he is cheating somehow! :)

Linking to Linky Party Tuesdays at Quilting by the River

Copyright © From Pixels to Patchwork 2012. All rights reserved.

WIP Wednesday - Sewing Dangerously

For about one week every month, I become super productive. I spend the rest of the month recovering from that week. On this month's productive week I decided that I did not have enough projects on my WIP list, so I entered "MUST MAKE ALL THE QUILTS!!!" mode. The following projects are a result of this past week.
 

***Linking with Freshly Pieced's WIP Wednesday! & This Week @ Love Affair With My Brother ***

A. The Charlotte Quilt from Three Times the Charm! by Me and My Sister Designs (using Malka Dubrawsky's Stitch in Color) - I am absolutely in love with this quilt top! I think the bold fabric worked really well with the quilt pattern. Since this one is small, I am thinking about attempting hand quilting.

B. Charming Flowers Quilt Pattern from Layer Cake, Jelly Roll and Charm Quilts by Pam Lintott (Using Etchings By 3 Sisters) - I'm in the cutting phase on this one.

C. Hootenanny Quilt from Dare to Be Square Quilting by Boo Davis (Using Kona Cotton by Kaufman) - My husband loved his robot quilt so much, that he wanted me to make the owl quilt for his aunt. What am I, a machine??? I tried to ignore him, but he won't stop mentioning it. I started piecing that one today. One row out of four done.

D. Diamond Lace Shawl from Learn New Stitches on Circle Looms by Ann Bipes (Using Nora Kogarashi #9) - I love this (expensive) yarn! I tried to buy it while my husband was out of earshot, but it was a small shop. I am about three feet in, two more feet to go!

E. X's and O's Quilt Pattern from Olive Tree Designs (Using Bonnie & Camille's Ruby) - I am so excited to break into my Ruby charm square that I bought ages ago. All of the HSTs are sewn, but I have a billion blocks left to sew. Lesson learned on this one: the sudden thought of how awesome I am for sewing a gajillion squares so fast is a good indicaton that the bobbin ran out half-gajillion squares ago.

No progress: Crimson Cross, Home Ec Course, Jewelry Roll, Tote and Pillow
Finished: Robot Quilt

---

In preparation for the New York Beauty QAL, I completed The Littlest Thistles' first foundation piecing tutorial in the Foundation Piecing for the Terrified series. It is an awesome tutorial for beginners and I am pretty sure I am in love with paper piecing now! I felt like I had so much more control!

With all the productivity, my work zone is on the verge of OSHA shutdown. Today will be spent cleaning and trying to find all those pins that have found themselves nestled into the carpet.

© From Pixels to Patchwork 2012. All rights reserved.